Quick Guide to visiting Athens
From Beirut with Funk - 6/9/2025 1:56:04 PM - GMT (+2 )
Destination: Athens
Travel Companions: Graham
Duration: 5 days

View Stories Highlights here.

Before I delve into the quick guide, it's important to put things into perspective. Athens is the oldest capital city in Europe. Athens was named after the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Athena and Athens is the birthplace of democracy and it is where ancient greek philosophy has thrived. 

View from our Athens apartment


Despite the short duration in Athens, it has to be said that this is a city that holds a lot of history and culture. For us Lebanese, landing in Athens felt very familiar, I felt like I was back in Ashrafieh due to the similar vibes of people around us and even architecture, and instead of grabbing a Chicken Shawarma from the place around the corner, we grabbed Chicken Gyros.

First order of business



1) Where to Stay:
Depending on the duration of your Greece visit and whether you're only going to stay in Athens or want to move around surrounding cities, your best bet is to be in the main area of it all, Plaka. Of course, you can venture just 5-10 minutes around Plaka to plenty of close by neighborhoods and just a bit further towards Kolonaki and Pangrati which is close to where we stayed, only a 10 minutes walk from the Zappeion Garden which was way calmer and didn't feel touristy at all and where we had a view of the Acropolis from our kitchen. This means though a bit of walking is required, which we didn't mind, especially after all those gyros.




If you want to get a bit closer to the beach, heading for a night or two to Glyfada is not a bad idea. This area brings you closer to the beaches such as the popular Vouliagmeni beach and lake, which are two different spots, more on that in Things to Do. Having said that, you can remain in central Athens and just make a day trip to the beach. 

2) Things to Do:
Other than the museums recommended below, these are some of the things you go do:
  • Go to Glyfada for a nice beach day, plenty of beaches to choose from (Dot beach, Astir beach, Vouliagmeni beach...). We went to Vouliagmeni beach, and there you can pay for the lounge chairs and the umbrella, of course you can also try to find a free beach where you bring your own stuff; do note that the water is quite chilly and we were there in June.
  • Visit Vouliagmeni lake for a nice day of swimming and other water activities.
  • Go on a food tour (which we did and quite enjoyed), unfortunately I don't remember the name of the company we went with, but we found them on GetYourGuide. Newsflash, go for the best rated with the most elaborate reviews :) (what a secret I know)
  • A day on the Catamaran Sailing. We did half a day and chose the afternoon so we make it to sunset and it was just amazing. The company we went with is Sailing Athens (instagram account), which was a small group boat day. It is more expensive but I have done this with a big group and small group, and I think it's worth every penny. The food on the boat was better than all restaurants I visited while in Athens. The trip consists of sailing down towards Voula / Astir, anchoring with a delicious lunch, then swimming in the Aegean sea. A trip to remember.

3) How to Move Around:
Public transport is available such as Metro and Tram. And of course plenty of taxi services such as Bolt. 

One of the temples in the Acropolis of Athens


4) Places to Visit:
  • Visit the Acropolis of Athens of course (which includes many more landmarks such as the Temple of Hephaestus) and then pop into the National Historical Museum.
  • For more history in relation to philosophy, you can visit the Prison of Socrates if you want to get a bit more insight into a bit of Socrates' life or the Archaeological Site of the Lyceum of Aristotle
  • Visit Cape Sounion - Temple of Poseidon, and if you're there around sunset you get a beautiful seascape view.
  • Go up to Lycabettus Hill for a beautiful panoramic view.
  • Visit the National Garden Botanical Museum.
  • Visit Zappeion Garden where you can have a nice walk in the park and admire a lot of intriguing statues and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
  • Around that area you can also visit the Panathenaic stadiu, which is the only stadium in the world that is built entirely of marble, it was built in 400 BC, and renovated twice since, in 144 AD and again in 1869.
  • Museum of Cycladic Art mostly focusing on ancient Cycladic sculptures and artifacts, also has kit-friendly activities and exhibits. 
  • A lot of the squares are quite vibrant at night with a lot of markets in between, areas around Psirri Square, Monastiraki Square, Paleas Agoras Square which are not far from the Acropolis entrance.
Temple of Poseidon

5) Where to Eat:
Now, the most important part of this guide: food! Here are some of the places we tried and loved, and other places that were recommended to us but sadly we didn't get the chance to try.

One of the food tour stops


Athens:
  • Cute Cafés:
    • Salute Bistro
    • Little Tree Books & Coffee
  • Restaurants:
    • Apsro Alogo (food was great)
    • Cycladic Café (despite it being a cafe in a museum, the food was delicious with great presentation and the place had a nice atmosphere)
    • Other places that were recommended but we didn't try:
      • Ergon house
      • O Thanasis
      • Electra Metropolis
      • The parliament
      • A for Athens
  • Pub Restaurants with nice views
    • Publik Café 
    • Ciel
  • Desserts to try:
    • Lukumadez (Turkish and Lebanese people will find it very familiar)
Glyfada:
  • Mparmpounaki (seafood)
  • Labros (seafood)
6) Helpful Greek Expressions
  • Good morning = Kalimera
  • Good evening = Kalispera
  • Thank you = Efkharisto
  • Okay = Daksi
  • Please / Welcome = Parakaló





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